At present, typical Type III personal flotation devices approved by the U.S. Coast Guard, consist of a vestlike garment which has buoyant material in the back and front panels of the device and without provision for additional buoyancy provided by inflation of the vest. Also, a life jacket has been combined with an inflatable bladder which is selectively filled with a gas, such as air or CO.sub.2, for the purpose of providing additional inflation (see U.S. Pat. No. 3,931,657 to Walter C. Jones). It is desirable that when a combination jacket is inflated by the wearer that in addition to the normal performance required of a Type III device, it performs in the same manner as a Type II personal flotation device in that it will turn an unconscious wearer from a face down to a face up position in the water and maintain his head and face out of the water.
This prior combination vest has the disadvantage that the air inflating tube for the bladder is always exterior of the vest so that it could interfere with the wearing of the vest and further, the excessive material of the vest cover which is required for expansion of the vest upon inflation of the bladder is not firmly held in position until inflation. Also, the inflatable collar of the vest is not firmly held in position until inflation and is permitted to flap away from the vest so as to interfere with the activities of the wearer. It also requires that the inflatable bladder be firmly fixed to the outer envelope of the vest.
Another combination device is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,199,128 to Nojd and is constructed in the form of a jacket vest with sleeves. Such a bulky device will obviously interfere with the wearer's movements in the water. Also, of interest is U.S. Patent to Bernhardt, U.S. Pat. No. 3,117,326 illustrating a neck float restrained by a flap normally secured by snaps and opened automatically upon inflation of the float.